APA DC LGBTQIAP+ Photography Grant Recepient 2025

American Photographic Artists (APA) is proud to announce Omar Soto (they/them) because the 2025 grant recipient for the annual LGBTQIAP+ Photography Grant sponsored by APA’s Washington, D.C., chapter (APA|DC).  

A panel of distinguished jurors chosen Omar’s mission from 91 purposes throughout the United States. Soto is a DACAmented photographer whose surreal imagery explores queer pleasure and escapism to navigate the marginalization they endure whereas dwelling on the intersection of race, gender, and social class. Born in Tijuana in 1996, Soto migrated to the United States in 2000 and at present resides in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Omar’s grant submission, “Mediums of Hope: Reimagining Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Classical Art,” is a collaborative photographic mission amongst costume designers, make-up and nail artists, hair and clothes stylists, jewellery makers, painters, fabricators, and fashions to create elaborately staged visible compositions. Drawing inspiration from iconic artworks historical past, similar to Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (1445-1510), these pictures reimagine classical narratives by means of the lens of QTBIPOC (Queer and Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) identities. Rooted within the cultural expressions of Mexican and Latinx communities, in addition to in music, movie, and non secular symbolism, Mediums of Hope establishes dialogue between classical and modern artwork and challenges the standard canon in artwork historical past by centering queer folks, trans folks, and folks of shade.

“This award will assist me in completing my series through the ability to compensate my dedicated collaborators which a majority of them are queer and BIPOC. This will also allow me to pay for services like printing and framing as well as creating additional work along with keeping my work alive, “ said Soto. “Funding is crucial to any artist and I cannot express enough how much it means to me to have APA’s support along the way. It isn’t lost on me that many amazing artists applied and to be selected to win this is beyond my wildest dreams.”

APA|DC launched the $3,000 grant in 2022 for rising and established photographers to have fun range and assist LGBTQIAP+ photographers obtain funding, recognition, and illustration within the skilled photographic group. Photographers aged 18+ within the United States and its territories who self-identified as LGBTQIAP+ have been eligible to use.

The grant’s jury panel consisted of business leaders and included Michael Wichita, Photo Director, AARP; Natalie Jasmine Harris, Filmmaker; Dee Williams; Photographer and Social Content Director; and Matthew Leifheit, Photographer, Editor, and Professor. 

“APA|DC is honored to continue sponsoring this grant to help amplify the voices of LGBTQIAP+ photographers. Our jurors felt that Omar Soto’s project, Mediums of Hope: Reimagining Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Classical Art, is a powerful contribution to the field and that this support will provide critical aid in advancing their work. We’re excited to see the project continue to grow and reach broader audiences,” mentioned Katie Dance, APA|DC Chapter Director.